The Element
by SportsMetalWWEandPonyFan2578
Summary: The third and final part of The Maddock Chronicles. When Maddock's friends are threatened by a new evil in Equestria, will he stand up and save them or will he wither away and give in to his past?
1. Prologue: Fallout

Even though he had put on a brave front in the face of Twilight's rejection, Maddock found slumber to be impossible that night. So he got up and attempted to tire himself by walking around his room. As he walked, he looked outside and noticed the clarity of the night that had befallen them. _What cruel irony, _he thought, _to have such a beautiful night outside, yet to be facing such a raging hell on the inside. _It seemed as though Princess Luna had conspired with all the pegasi of Cloudsdale to deliver such a perfect night for him to confess his romantic feelings to Twilight, only to have her turn him down.

Suddenly, a voice within him spoke. This was a voice he knew all too well, and he thought he had put it to bed forever. But one can never truly let go of something once one has had it for so long. His old habit was returning. _You don't need Twilight, _the voice taunted, _after all, she was a unicorn. Maybe unicorns just aren't capable of love._

Maddock seethed at the voice and tried all manner of ways to make it go away. He tried shaking his head violently, he tried to think of something else, he even tried blasting some music right in his face from the phonograph player in the room. But it was not to be. The voice lambasted him with all kinds of mockery, and it tried to make him feel weak because he trusted Twilight so much.

Suddenly, he yelled out loud. "NO! I will NEVER fall under your spell ever again! I am a different pony. I am a changed pony. I WILL NOT LET YOU HAVE CONTROL!" With that cry, he fell onto his bed, exhausted from struggling with his inner demon. His breath was labored and he began weeping some. "Oh, Twilight," he said softly, "I'm not worthy…"

Then the door flew open and Twilight raced in. She looked around frantically and spotted Maddock, curled up in something of a ball. She slowly moved over to him. "Maddock?" She asked cautiously, fearful that he would be angry with her for rejecting him, "I heard you scream." He turned up and gave her a sad look. She thought she had never seen a pony look so down before, even Fluttershy. So she sat on the bed beside him.

They both looked at each other for a couple of seconds before Maddock broke the silence. "Twilight…I…I'm not worthy to be your friend," he said softly. Twilight gave him a stunned look. "Whatever do you mean by that?" she asked incredulously. "It came back tonight," he said, "that prejudiced voice."

Her look softened and she put a friendly hoof around his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Maddock," she said. "And after all I've done to get rid of it," he said, "Twilight, I don't think I should teach at your school, nor do I believe I'm worthy of being your friend," he repeated. She grabbed his face and looked deep into his eyes. "Maddock, it's not a matter of being 'worthy.' Friendship doesn't work that way. You should know that."

He immediately felt comforted by her presence. Even though she didn't reciprocate his romantic feelings, something about him felt a complete warmth when she was near him. No matter what, she was his friend and he would never ever forget it. He was ashamed that he had even thought himself unworthy of being friends with the princess. He should have known that she would never terminate a friendship. Come hell or high water, they would always have a bond stronger than steel.


	2. Sapphira

Beyond the verdant mountains of central Equestria lay the small town of Hoofberg. Within this town lived a certain pony. This unicorn was a member of a very prominent family, but she was never happy. She had all the wealth and status she could wish for, yet she was constantly deprived of satisfaction. Truth be told, she hated the money, the status, and all ponies that weren't exactly like her and who didn't share her wild, farfetched beliefs.

Her hatred grew to include all Earth ponies, because she saw them as not having the mental capacity to do anything but work. She found them to be dumb and inferior. She didn't take into account that the town she called home had been started by a group of Earth ponies. She also didn't take into account that without the Earth ponies and their hard work on their farms, Hoofberg as she knew it wouldn't exist at all.

Her parents were incredibly successful in the horseshoe business. They had amassed a great wealth, but were extremely philanthropic with it. They were generous ponies, even earning a distinction from Princess Twilight and Rarity, the unicorn who embodied the element of generosity, as two of the most generous ponies in Equestria. True to their form, they did not flaunt this award in front of the other ponies, but were quietly grateful for it and continued their charitable work in and around Hoofberg.

But Sapphira hated it all. She wanted all the Earth ponies destroyed. She believed that they were constantly taking jobs away from unicorns who deserved them more. She didn't stop to think that qualifications or experience were taken into account when somepony hired another pony. She only looked at the outside of her fellow ponies, and she was hurting because of it.

Somewhat miraculously, she did manage to have one friend, a unicorn named Rose. Rose was a dark soul, spreading malicious rumors about the Earth ponies of Hoofberg. Now, dear reader, you can see where Sapphira got her viciousness from. She had met Rose at a small meeting of a secret society they were both a part of. This society's name was "Unicornis Vel Dominationem," which translated means "Unicorn Domination," and they had one goal: kill every last Earth pony and Pegasus in Equestria.

The scariest part of that prospect was that they had been successful in their endeavors more and more frequently. A string of mysterious murders around Hoofberg had been assigned to them, and they had happily taken credit for them. They never met in public, only in private, and their meetings were so mysterious and off the grid that new members were sent to live in the woods for a week after being initiated so they wouldn't get caught by the local police.

It was here that Rose and Sapphira first struck up a conversation, the former being upset at an Earth pony who had dealt her family a bad business deal, and the latter being upset at what she deemed the inferiority of Earth ponies. They also had malicious thoughts about pegasi, believing them to be demented winged mutated hybrids of ponies and birds.

It was only a few months prior that they had both participated in their first murder. It was an innocent pegasi foal, only a few months away from graduating flight school. They had cut off her wings as a trophy for the group and then driven their horns simultaneously through her chest. They both laughed as her blood stained the ground under their hooves. Having finished their disgusting and loathsome deed, they returned home and slept calmly.

Rose's mind was completely gone. Ironically, from the time she was a foal, her parents had raised her to love and respect other ponies. But the bad dealings of one Earth pony, coupled with the demented teachings of "Unicornis Vel Dominationem," had rendered her mind nothing more than a pile of mush. Insanity was her new friend, and she embraced it with reckless abandon.

But while she was definitely scary, it was Sapphira who was the scarier pony. She refused to give in to the same crazy cravings that her best friend had. She retained all her sanity and intelligence, which made her even more dangerous to the ponies around her. Soon, she developed a lust for power and wanted to rule Equestria. She wanted all of the princesses dead, for what were they but, in her mind, impure hybrids of Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns?

The creaky wheels of her mind began rattling as the days went by, and soon enough, she had developed a plan to kill Celestia and take over Equestria. _Or, as ponies everywhere will soon call it…Unicornistan! _With those evil thoughts, she and Rose set about making plans to raise an army of unicorns to storm Canterlot and take over Equestria.

Now, in Maddock's case, he had the help of three of the princesses to eradicate his prejudice and hatred. But in Sapphira's case, she had nopony there to help her and to show her what true friendship really is. Rose had been the only pony she had ever been friendly towards, and she wasn't about to stop. Her parents had noticed that the quiet, yet sweet pony they once knew was turning dark and cold. They tried to help her, but to no avail. She swept them under the rug and, quite literally, washed her hooves of them.

Hoofberg had been going through a bit of a rough stretch recently, as the ground had yielded very few crops that season. She and Rose capitalized on this and created propagandistic posters that blamed the Earth ponies for the town's problems. They would show this at their society meetings. Unsurprisingly enough, the members of the society praised Sapphira and Rose for their cunning ways.

Being underground was essential to their plan for dominating Equestria, so they remained secretive with their actions. Their first target was Ponyville, more specifically Princess Twilight and the School of Friendship. They planned to attack the school, kill the Earth ponies and pegasi, and force the unicorns to make a choice between death or joining their group. Plans were quickly laid, and a few nights later, "Unicornis Vel Dominationem" marched out of Hoofberg toward Ponyville under cover of darkness


	3. Attack

Meanwhile, the unsuspecting Twilight and her friends were busily getting the School of Friendship ready for the annual Parents and Students Dinner. Each of them had a different assignment. As the head mare, Twilight was responsible for supervision, with Starlight as her assistant. Applejack was handling all the food. Rarity was in charge of decorating the school's banquet hall for the occasion. Fluttershy was in charge of the music. Pinkie Pie was in charge of coming up with some fun games for the students and parents to play on the school grounds after they had finished eating. Rainbow Dash was in charge of the entertainment, and she had finally been able to convince Spitfire to bring the rest of the Wonderbolts down for a small show.

As for Maddock, he helped wherever he could, but his real assignment was showing his students' parents how they had gotten rid of their various prejudices. He quivered with excitement. He couldn't wait to tell them about how their children had progressed in his class. He couldn't be more proud to show off their new attitudes. Well, all except one.

He had made some progress with Princess, but she still wasn't quite warming up to the Pegasi in the school. Sometimes he found himself breaking up verbal fights between the two parties. Some might think, "that's progress?" But indeed, it was, for only a few months before she had been getting into physical scuffles with the female pegasi. One time, she injured one of their wings and was suspended from school for one whole month by Twilight. The only contact with the school that she was allowed to make was with Maddock himself, for Twilight did not want her to discontinue her anti-prejudice studies.

The night of the dinner, everything was in place. Rarity had outdone herself, decorating the banquet hall with welcome banners and streamers all over the place, along with some of the finest food Ponyville had to offer, courtesy of Applejack. Pinkie Pie had set up all kinds of fun games on the campus grounds, and Fluttershy had managed to book in the Pony Tones for the evening. Everything was ready, and Maddock found himself standing at the top of the school's main staircase dressed in the same suit he wore when Twilight rejected him. He felt a little awkward standing next to her, but he quickly put it aside and prepared to welcome the students and their families.

Once they were all gathered, Twilight spoke. "Thank you for being here tonight, everyone! We are thrilled beyond measure to have this wonderful opportunity to share with not only our students, but their parents as well. Yes, indeed, this is sure to be a momentous occasion. Our goals tonight are threefold: one, to show the School of Friendship to the parents who entrust their children to us on a daily and nightly basis, two, to have fun, and three, to make new friends! Because that's what we do here at the School of Friendship. We strive to make every creature who walks through our doors a better friend to all whom they might come into contact with, and we hope we have achieved that goal through our students. So, welcome one and all, and let's have a good time!"

When she finished, she led all the guests and the faculty up through the school's main hallway and into the banquet hall. Everyone stood for a moment and gaped at Rarity's decorations. The pretty unicorn blushed a bit but, ever the dramatic diva, stepped forward and silently proclaimed that she was the one responsible for such a ravishing sight.

The parents, students, and faculty all took their seats. The evening began with another speech from Twilight, in which she poured praise over the student body for the work they had accomplished and the friendships they were forming. Afterwards, each teacher got to give a small presentation on their respective classes. When it came time for Maddock to give his, he slowly stepped to the microphone.

He tried not to show it, but he was more nervous than he had ever been, even on the night he confessed to Twilight. He had never made a public speech before and, even though he had been practicing for weeks, he still felt small standing there in front of such a sizeable crowd. He cleared his throat, causing the microphone to feedback some, then launched into his speech.

"Students, parents, and my fellow faculty members. Tonight is a night with which I have been anticipating with a lot of, shall we say, gusto, but also a lot of trepidation. It's easy to become apprehensive when one has to give this kind of a speech, especially when you've been entrusted with eradicating the bigotry of a special group of creatures, but, nonetheless, I press on. Hopefully, you will bear with me.

Tonight is momentous, not only for myself, but for the students in my anti-prejudice class. We've been studying hard and working hard to rid ourselves of that which besets us, and I feel like we have made a lot of progress. Unlike other prejudice classes, this one does not focus on one race of creatures who are thought to be 'privileged' or 'advantaged,' due to their appearance or where they're from. On the contrary, my class is for all creatures who wish to rid themselves of the senseless hate that racism causes.

I am delighted to be here this evening to present the results of that eradication. I'm very pleased with the progress that my students have made. Just looking out at the audience this evening, I can see how much they have changed since the semester began. I see ponies, dragons, Changelings, Griffons, and all other creatures sitting side-by-side tonight. That is what I strive to teach my students day in and day out. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from. Opportunity presents itself to everyone equally, and it's your choice whether to grab it and run with it or to shrink away from it and never hear from it again.

So to all the parents of my students here tonight, I ask you the following question: will you help continue to quell that prejudice? If you will, then I can guarantee you from personal experience that the world will be a better place because of it. I may have come to Ponyville a prejudiced, bigoted pony, but thanks to Princess Twilight, I am living here as a completely different stallion.

I am proud of the stallion I am today, just as I am so very proud of the differences in my students' lives, and I hope that they will continue long into the future. They are the reason I do what I do on a daily basis. I love having each of my students in my class, and I only hope that they will go out into the world and make a difference in someone else because of what they've learned, not only in my class, but in all the other classes as well. Thank you."

As he finished, he took a quick look around the head table. There wasn't a dry eye there. Even Applejack's eyes were moist. But the eyes he took the most note of were Twilight's. Her tears stained her coat as she smiled. She silently conveyed a message of teacher's pride to Maddock. _I know,_ he told her silently, _I'm proud of them, too. _The room erupted with applause as every creature made plain their pleasure with Maddock's speech. He sat down and blushed a bit. After all, his speech had been so brief. Pinkie Pie leaned over and nudged him. He looked at her, and saw a happiness in her puffy, tear filled eyes that he thought could never be matched. "Maddock," she whispered, "that was beautiful."

He turned to respond, but was interrupted by a crash from the banquet hall's glass ceiling. Suddenly, dozens and dozens of unicorns, all wearing the same red scarf tied around their horns, came dropping in on ropes. Even more crashed through the windows. Before any of the faculty members could move, they began attacking the students and their families.

Twilight flew into action, zapping a few of them with her magic before being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. "TWILIGHT!" Maddock shouted and flew after her. He used his powerful hooves to buck off a number of unicorns before finally locating the princess. She was bleeding a bit, but otherwise unharmed. He pulled her out of the pile and back to the head table, where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busily warding off their combatants.

"What the hay is all this?!" Twilight shouted.

"I haven't the foggiest!" Maddock shouted back.

Suddenly, the marauding unicorns stopped as a certain pink unicorn landed with a loud thud. She seemed to be their leader, as they all stopped and bowed in respect. She looked around with an evil sneer, but said nothing. She carried a hateful air about her, one that she completely conveyed without making a sound. But she wasn't the only silent one. Another pony was speechless. Maddock looked at this intruder with his mouth agape, for there, right in front of him, was the unicorn that had killed his parents.


	4. Declaration

Twilight lay there and looked around at her beloved school's banquet hall, now crushed under the heavy hooves of the intruding force. She couldn't believe that anypony would be so cruel, but then she caught a glimpse of the pink unicorn's face. It showed nothing but absolute contempt for the ponies and creatures around her. She looked above her and saw Maddock, who's mouth was hanging open. He seemed to be in an awakened, yet somewhat comatose state. He wasn't moving, just staring endlessly.

The pink unicorn shook her head in mock disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," she said haughtily, "not a unicorn among you. You haven't been sufficiently categorized and compartmentalized…and you call yourself a school. What a shame." She moved among the creatures, picking out the injured students among them. She walked up to a certain griffon, who's wing had been badly damaged.

She bent down and sneered in the young one's face. "And what's your name?" She asked darkly. The griffon shivered. "M-m-m-m-Martha," she said softly. "Martha the griffon," the unicorn said, "and…what is it you hope to accomplish by studying at this School of Friendship?" The way she said the last three words and the vicious look she gave Twilight made the hair on her mane stand on end. "Well," the young griffon continued, with a little more confidence, "I just hope to make new friends and share the magic of friendship back home in Griffonstone."

"See, that's where you're wrong," the pink one said with an evil gleam in her eye, "you thought you were going to do that…but you're actually gonna be made an example of. This is what happens to creatures who cross the MIGHTY UNICORN RACE!" With that, she stabbed her horn through Martha's chest. Her parents tried to intervene, but two of the intruding unicorns magically held them back.

Twilight could only watch as the young griffon bled out on the floor in front of her. Her tears were instantaneous. Martha had been such a sweet young griffon, and a friend to many of her fellow students. Twilight had many a conversation with the nervous creature the first time she arrived at the school, but as the days and weeks went by, Martha built up her confidence. She had begun to make very good friendships, and Twilight was so happy for her. Now, those friendships would be for naught as a young life was ripped away in front of her very eyes.

"My name is Sapphira," the pink unicorn went on, "and unicorns shall rule Equestria before the week is out."

"Not if I can help it!" Twilight suddenly shouted, finding the courage to speak and to wobble to her hooves. She gave Sapphira a furious look and moved towards her slowly. "You dare to attack my school, hurt my friends, and kill one of my students?! GUARDS!"

A flurry of guards rushed into the hall and began fighting the unicorn horde. They managed to push them back a bit, but then fell victim to the numbers game. They killed every guard that Twilight sent against them. The princess could only look on in shock and horror. Those guards were her friends, too.

Sapphira looked around satisfactorily and then laughed. "You know, Twilight, you're a really great Princess of Friendship. You made no effort to defend your student and then you sent all of your guards to their doom. Way to go," she sarcastically sneered. "Now…where was I? Oh, yes, I was just about to KILL YOU!"

She raced forward and tried to zap Twilight with a death blast, but Twilight was too quick for her and flew off. Sapphira charged after her and soon the room was filled with magic zaps and the sound of an intense duel. Twilight maneuvered her way into a small loft built into the top of the hall and began using it like a machine gunner's nest. She rapidly zapped different points of the room, trying desperately to incapacitate Sapphira, but always finding that the evil unicorn was one step ahead of her, or to be more accurate, one teleportation ahead of her.

Suddenly, Sapphira hit a brick wall, so to speak. It was Applejack, who stood nose to nose with the evildoer. "Nopony, and I mean NOPONY, touches the princess!" Applejack sneered. The two ponies locked eyes and Sapphira shot at her. Applejack ducked out of the way and yelled to the head table, "PINKIE! MY ROPE!"

Pinkie grabbed Applejack's trusty rope and tossed it to her. As quick as a cat, Applejack raced around Sapphira, wrapping up her hooves so she couldn't move. She finished and looked back at her work…to find that the rope was empty. Sapphira had teleported herself up to where Twilight was, and was preparing to stab the purple pony through the neck.

But then Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash found their wing strength again and raced up top to defend their friend. Dash flapped as hard as she could, causing a strong wind that knocked Sapphira back to the floor. She used her magic to create a force field that redirected her back to the top of the room, but Pinkie Pie used a nearby trampoline to bounce up and knock her out of midair.

She magically floated for a minute before landing back on the ground, conceding this round of the young war. "You have some pretty impressive friends, Twilight," she sneered, "but it won't matter once I've done away with Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and yourself! I hereby declare war on Equestria! For the glory of the unicorn! _Unicornis Vel Dominationem!" _

With a flash of light, she was gone. Her unicorn army quickly marched out after her. "Come on, everypony!" Applejack yelled, "if my instincts are right, she's gonna make a beeline for Canterlot! We have to warn Celestia and Luna!" Twilight fluttered down from her post and stood in front of Applejack. "You're right," she said, "though I hate the idea of warring and fighting, we have to be ready for this. Spike, get a letter to the princesses! Tell them that this crazy unicorn and her malevolent group are on their way to Canterlot! Tell them to double, nay, TRIPLE the forces there! We'll make haste for the capital as well."

She turned to her frightened students and their parents. "Is everyone else alright?" She asked. Other than a few scratches and bruises, and one Changeling with a broken wing, everyone seemed to be okay. "We will mourn for Martha later," the princess said, "right now, I need every creature to head for their respective quarters. Stay safe, and stay out of the open areas of Ponyville. Sapphira might have left a small guard behind to keep watch. At this point, I am ordering a lockdown of the school and of the town. No creature, pony or otherwise, is to leave town unless I give the order! Somepony get a message to the mayor, and tell her this is a direct order from the princess!"

She turned and noticed the young pony Sandbar. "Sandbar!"

"Yes, Professor Sparkle?"

"Right now, it's Princess Twilight. Can you get that message to Mayor Mare?"

"Of course, your majesty!"

"Thank you," Twilight said before smiling, "the entire town may owe you a debt of gratitude before this ordeal is over."

He nodded and dashed off. Meanwhile, Twilight gave the sky a very pensive, almost pained look. She couldn't believe that this was happening in her beloved Equestria. Would she have to do something that she never thought she could ever bring herself to do in order to save her home? Would she have to kill another pony for the good of Equestria?


	5. Defense

The next hour was a hectic blur to all the creatures involved. The students and parents of the School of Friendship beat a hasty retreat into their quarters. Spike hurriedly wrote and sent the message to Princess Celestia, breathing fire into existence quicker than he ever thought possible. Sandbar raced across town and quickly delivered the message to Mayor Mare, who sounded a special alarm that called all the ponies to lock their doors and shut their windows for safekeeping.

Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends raced back to the Castle of Friendship. They ran into the throne room and quickly clambered up onto their respective seats while Twilight figured out what to do. Her mind raced at a million miles a minute as she went over prospective plan after prospective plan. _I just hope that haste doesn't make waste here, _she suddenly thought in a panic, _all of these ponies have their lives in my hooves. Now is not the time to screw up! _

She turned to her friends, including Maddock, who's seat in the throne room had just been recently erected. "Normally when we're here, I treat you all as equals. You are my friends, and I love each of you and I would die for each of you. But for now, I am your superior. I am a princess of Equestria, and I am treating this situation as such."

Getting panicked nods from her friends, she continued. "Now then, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Maddock. You are the toughest ponies in our little group, and I want you to be tough as nails for the next 15 minutes. I want you to stand guard on the roof of the castle, in case Sapphira sends some unicorns after us. Remember, their magic can do practically anything. These are incredibly advanced pony wizards we're dealing with here. It would not surprise me if they have figured out how to harness magic and convert it into flight. So be on your guard for an attack from the air just as much as one from the ground."

The three ponies got up, saluted her, and dashed off to their duties. As they left the room, Maddock couldn't help but turn and look back longingly at Twilight. He still loved her very much, and wanted to be sure she would be alright. Applejack stopped and grabbed his chin with a hoof. "Maddock, come on! You heard Twilight! We've gotta go!"

"But I…"

"Don't worry, sugar cube," Applejack said, "everything's gonna be alright. Twilight will be fine." She gave him an understanding look. It had become common knowledge that Maddock loved Twilight, and he found it comforting that his best friends were supporting him in this endeavor. He nodded curtly, yet respectfully at Applejack and the two raced to catch up with Rainbow Dash.

Meanwhile, back in the throne room, Twilight gave out orders to the other ponies. "Fluttershy and Rarity, you are the most caring and compassionate ponies in our group. I want you to find the best medical supplies you can. There should be a surplus stored in the new warehouse out back. Hurry! We have to get to Canterlot as soon as we can!"

The two mares got up, nodded at Twilight, and galloped out of the room. "Now, then, Starlight and Pinkie. I want you to help keep morale up when we get to Canterlot. There are bound to be lots of distressed ponies, and I don't want them to be depressed about all this. Now, I don't want them to be happy to the point where they are completely ignorant of the situation, but keep their spirits up."

"You can count on us, Twilight!" Pinkie said cheerfully, "we won't let those mean unicorns get our guys down!"

"Uh, what she said," Starlight said, putting on a smile. Truth be told, she was scared to death, but she knew she would do whatever Twilight said. After all, she had saved her from the depths of loneliness and had taught her the value of having friends versus being the dictator of a collective. She now valued each pony individually and saw their individual talents.

With the orders given, Twilight rose from her throne and made her way to the castle hallway. She passed by three or four doors before coming to one marked "DO NOT ENTER UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY." _I'd say this is pretty darn necessary, _she thought as she unlocked it and went in.

Inside, there was a technological marvel. A machine that allowed her to broadcast a message to every television set in Equestria. Yes, friends, they do have television in Equestria. The channel E1 was broadcasting an episode of Equestria's most popular show, "The Stallion," a reality show in which 26 different mares all basically fought over the same single stallion. Twilight found it to be mindless drivel, as did the other princesses. _Maybe I should thank Sapphira, _she thought with amusement, _I'm about to interrupt this crap. Oh, and I think it's the season finale too! _

With that somewhat comforting thought running through her mind, she pressed a button and the machine came to life. An antenna shot up from the top and out a special hole in the castle roof. Once everything was in order, she hit the broadcast button. Suddenly, every television set in the country went dark, even those not watching "The Stallion." Then, Twilight came on.

"My fellow Equestrians," she said calmly, "we are at war with a group of highly racist unicorns who are bent on destroying us and our way of life. My School of Friendship was attacked by a pony named Sapphira and her group of malevolent ruffians. I have sent a message to Princess Celestia, but I want to make it known to the population at large. As your princess, I am ordering a code red lockdown of all towns in Equestria. Nopony is to go in or out until either myself, Luna, Cadance, or Celestia gives the order. Do not be panicked, my friends, but protect yourselves and your families. I do not know when this storm will pass, but I have faith that it will. Until it does, make sure that you all remain safe. Thank you, and hail Equestria."

With the traditional sign-off being said, she stopped the broadcast. _I just hope I haven't caused a mass panic, _she thought to herself, _I want them all to be safe. I have to find a way to stop Sapphira…hopefully without killing her and without dying myself._


	6. Canterlot

Meanwhile, in the capital of Equestria, Princesses Celestia and Luna went about their evening, completely unaware of what had happened in Ponyville. Luna had just woken up and raised the moon and was speaking with her sister before she went to her quarters for the night. They were talking about recent political threats made by the ambassador from Saddle Arabia.

"I don't understand this, sister," Luna said, "we've always been on good terms with their country. Why in the world would they want to threaten us?"

"I believe that these threats are born out of jealousy. After all, we basically control our world. We do raise the sun and moon for every creature, the pegasi of Cloudsdale come up with the weather for the entire world except for the Everfree Forest, and the ambassadors of other nations are always coming to us for advice. I feel that Saddle Arabia's government thinks that it's their turn to be in control."

"We must quell these threats at once, or risk the destruction of our beloved home!"

"I don't think that there is any reason for concern, Luna," Celestia said calmly, "these will die down soon enough."

Suddenly, a letter magically appeared right in front of Celestia's nose. She opened it and read it, her eyes growing wide with fear and becoming wider all the time. Luna took notice of this. "Celestia…um…what's with the eyes?"

"Th-th-th-there's been an attack on the School of Friendship!"

"WHAT?!" Luna shouted. She began hyperventilating. "An attack? In Equestria? Is it Saddle Arabia?" 

"No, it's much worse, in fact. It appears we have a racially motivated war on our hooves!"

Luna sighed, "did Maddock-?"

"No! Maddock had nothing to do with this! You know he's changed! We saw him on our last visit to the school, teaching other creatures how to get rid of their bigotry." Luna nodded, "yes, I suppose you're right, Celestia. But who would dare do something so horrible?" 

"According to Spike's letter, her name is Sapphira and she's hell bent on making sure that unicorns are the dominant race in Equestria!"

Luna gasped, not only at her sister's use of the term "hell bent," but at the horrific viciousness of this malefactor. She couldn't believe that somepony would actually act on feelings like that. She thought that every pony with a prejudice could somehow be changed. Unfortunately, this did not appear to be the case, no matter how much she wished otherwise.

"It says here that…she's headed for Canterlot!" Celestia suddenly screamed, "quick Luna, give orders to triple the guards around the city! Also, get me Shining Armor!" Luna nodded and flew off to give the orders while Celestia began worrying and pacing around the room.

It was at times like this she wondered why Star Swirl had chosen her to be a princess of Equestria. He had given her so much in the way of friendship, but she thought he would have made a far better ruler than she ever was. She tried to put up a brave front during crises like this one, but was never able to do so to her own satisfaction.

So she paced and worried and paced and worried some more. She was concerned for everypony, but above all, she was worried for her beloved former student, Twilight. Her letter confirmed that she was at least okay, but how was her condition? Was she badly hurt? Did Spike send the letter while Twilight was lying in bed, bleeding from all of her orifices and with two broken wings? Or was it Twilight herself who had magically written the letter with a quill and ink? _UGH! There are too many variables! _Celestia shouted internally, _she could be hurt or she could be fine or-_

At this point, the doors to the room opened. "Luna! Thank goodness you're back," Celestia said breathlessly. "Not quite," a female voice replied. Celestia turned to see her adopted niece Cadance with her husband Shining Armor and her little great niece, baby Flurry Heart. "Cadence," Celestia said as she stepped forward and hugged her, "how…how did you get here so quickly?" 

"The Crystal Express is a bullet train," Shining Armor said, "it can get us here in the blink of an eye." "As soon as we got Luna's message, we made a beeline for the train," Cadance said, "is everything alright?"

"So far," Celestia replied, "there's been no attack by the marauding unicorns. But…that doesn't mean I'm not worried."

"I think ponies would be angry if you weren't worried. I mean, you're the ruler of Equestria! Worrying about your subjects is kinda part of the job. I mean, I worry about the ponies of the Crystal Empire."

"Boy does she ever," Shining Armor put in, rolling his eyes. This earned him a bit of a jab from his wife. "Oh, you stop, Shining," she said, "you know darn well you worry just as much as I do." 

"OK, OK, I'm guilty," Shining Armor said, blushing, "so I worry. They're my subjects too, you know. I am the prince, after all."

Cadance smiled, "yes, sweetheart, I know. You do a wonderful job." She kissed him, and he blushed some more. "Aw, you know…I try."

Celestia gave them both a look. How could they possibly think about romance at a time like this? "I hate to break up the love fest here, but Equestria is in grave peril!" She said sharply, "this is no time for kissing and making goo-goo eyes at each other!" With that, she resumed her pacing and worrying.

"Aunt Celestia," Cadance said, "I appreciate that you're worried about Equestria, but you're pacing so much, you're gonna wear a hole in the carpet!"

"It's my carpet," Celestia retorted, "if I want to wear a hole in it, then I will wear a hole in it!"

At this point, Luna came galloping back in. The other ponies turned and looked at her and gasped. She was covered with blood and one wing appeared to be broken. She was breathing heavily and her blue eyes were flitting wildly around the room. Once she saw she was safe, she settled down a bit, although the others could tell she was in a massive amount of pain.

She limped across the room to her sister and collapsed on her shoulder. "Luna," Celestia said soothingly, "what happened?"

"The invaders have attacked Canterlot. I did my best to help where I could, but three of them held me down while a fourth beat me. I can still see the vicious look in their eyes. They were calling me 'inferior' and 'impure.' What's worse, they want all of us princesses dead by morning. It's not safe to be gathered in one place. We must flee!"

"How on earth did you manage to escape?" Cadance asked

"I teleported out of there when I had a moment's break," Luna said before groaning, "oh…my wing…my hoof…ugh…"

"You need medical attention," Celestia pointed out, "come on, let's go see the palace medical staff." With that, she helped her sister back to her hooves and tried to leave the room. But Luna wouldn't budge. "No! We can't bother with some frivolous thing like my well being. We have to flee! If we don't, then the entirety of the royal family of Equestria might be nothing but historical dust by morning!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Cadance said with a resolute look, "we can beat these evil ponies. I just know it." 

"I'm not going anywhere either," Shining Armor said, "I'll defend this castle and my family until my dying breath!" Celestia half expected them to give each other dreamy, cliché looks, but nothing like that happened. They were completely serious, and looked ready to give their lives for Canterlot and Equestria. She turned to her wounded sister. "Luna, we need to get you well. Come on, let's go."

"NO! WE HAVE TO FLEE! THERE IS NO POINT! THEY'LL KILL ALL OF US! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!" Luna screamed as her sister fairly dragged her out of the room and towards the palace medical wing. Her words echoed throughout the chamber as Cadance and Shining Armor looked at each other with complete fear. They had put up a big front in front of their friends, but could they back it up? Could they defend Canterlot against the invading horde? They didn't know. But they knew one thing: they had to try.


	7. Questions

Twilight and her friends made haste for Canterlot. After she broadcast her over the air message, she rounded up her friends and they took off for the capital. They didn't bother taking the Friendship Express, because it would've been too slow. It certainly was no Crystal Express. Twilight flew ahead of the group, with Spike flying beside her. Rainbow Dash flew on her left, carrying Applejack, and Fluttershy flew on her right, carrying Pinkie Pie. Rarity and Starlight both used their magic to float and keep up with the group, and Maddock was flying alongside in a magic chariot that Twilight had given him for Teacher's Appreciation Day a couple days before.

"Twilight?" Spike asked

"Yes, Spike?"

"What are we gonna do when we get there? What if Sapphira's already attacked?" 

"If she has, then we'll just have to fight back."

"But what about friendship, Twi? I mean, doesn't it solve everything?" 

Twilight was taken aback by Spike's sudden bluntness. Yes, it was true that friendship solved a lot of problems. As the Princess of Friendship, she knew this very well. Now she realized that there was a dark side to friendship that she had yet to accept. It had toyed with her mind in the past, but she had always slung it aside and ignored it. She just couldn't bring herself to accept this truth: friendship cannot solve everything.

Even in Equestria, if ponies came to blows about something and decided to end a friendship, her crew of singing, dancing, friendly ponies couldn't always bring them together. Sometimes friendships ended and they stayed that way, and sometimes it was for the betterment of all parties involved. Still, though, she found it an incredibly difficult concept to swallow.

"Twilight?" Spike said. She shook her head and came out of her trance-like state. "Sorry, Spike. I know this is gonna be hard to believe, considering I am the Princess of Friendship and run the School of Friendship…but no, friendship cannot solve everything."

Hearing not only Spike's gasp, but the gasps of her friends around her, she continued, "I know. Even I didn't want to believe it at first, but it's true. Friendship can solve a lot of things, and it's wonderful when it does. But sometimes ponies are beyond friendship's help, and I believe Sapphira is one of those rare breeds. She has shut the door of her heart, locked it, and put a million mental and social deadbolts on it in order to keep up her bigoted philosophy. Yes, friends, Sapphira cannot be helped by our friendship…and I've come to accept that."

"But then," Applejack said, "how the hay are we supposed to stop her?"

"We may have to…have to…" Twilight stopped and sniffed, "…kill her."

Another loud gasp was heard. "But, Twilight," Pinkie said, "nopony's killed another pony since before Celestia was crowned Princess!"

"I know, Pinkie," Twilight said, "but that may be about to change. I am not gonna allow Sapphira to hurt or kill any more of my friends. Little Martha was just starting out in life, and I'm not gonna allow her death to go unpunished. Whether that means I throw Sapphira in prison for the rest of her life or I kill her in the heat of battle, so be it."

Spike looked up and saw the dark, yet determined look in his best friend's eyes, and realized that she was right. They weren't going to solve a friendship problem, they were going to defend Equestria. If that meant killing whomever happened to be in front of them, then that was the way it was going to be.

The other ponies in the group made the same realization as the young dragon. Fluttershy couldn't ever see herself doing something like that, so she began crying, as did Pinkie. "Twilight…" Pinkie sniffed, "…I…I just…I can't!" Twilight turned and gave her an understanding look. "I know, Pinkie," she said, "I don't like it, either. In fact, I hate the idea. I want to believe that friendship can solve this problem, but even I know when reality defeats fantasy."

Pinkie nodded and tried to look strong, but failed miserably. Her eyes betrayed the fact that she wanted to go to Canterlot, throw a great big party and completely change Sapphira for the better. Her mind flip flopped as it projected images of her being in a fight and having to kill another pony. She shivered at the thought.

Twilight took notice of this. She stopped as they got close to the city and spoke to the whole group. "Girls…we're going into a hell not of our own making," she said, "this is going to be worse than any punishment Tartarus could ever inflict upon you. I've always said that friendship isn't always easy, but it's definitely worth fighting for. At no other time do those words ring more true than this. It's time to fight for our friends. If that means we have to shed the blood of our enemies, so be it. I'm appalled by this entire situation, but it is what it is. We have to win here today. If we don't, then Equestria as we know it will be gone forever. Whatever happens, guard Princess Celestia with your very lives if necessary. If you don't make it, know that you will be treated as a hero in Equestria and in the world beyond forevermore. I decree it, and I make it so as a princess of Equestria! Friendship may not be able to solve this problem, but we will fight for our friendships and rid Equestria of this menace! Who's with me?!"

This little speech earned a positive yell from the group, and they turned to charge into Canterlot. They got as far as the top of the wall, before the sounds of clashing horns, hooves, and wings stopped them. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked around and stopped dead in their tracks. Beneath them, ponies were actively slaughtering each other. Blood stained the beautiful plazas of Canterlot. They saw the bigoted ponies ripping the wings off of pegasi and sending them screaming into the dark. They saw the forces of Equestria holding down the bigoted ones and driving their horns and hooves into their hearts, leaving them gasping for air and bleeding to death. Both mares felt like crying. How could ponies do this to each other? Couldn't they just be friends and get along?

Meanwhile, Twilight surveyed the carnage, looking for Celestia. She couldn't find her on the battlefield, so she gazed up to the castle. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that familiar, rainbow colored flowing mane in one window. "OK, guys," she said, "I see the princess. Let's fly up and check on her and then we'll join in the fracas."

"The what now?" Rainbow Dash asked

"The battle, Dash," Twilight said before taking off. The group followed and they landed on the balcony before bursting through the full length window. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight said cheerfully, "thank goodness you're alright!"

Then they saw something that made them stop and drop their jaws. Princess Celestia was there, but she was in an indestructible magic bubble. A certain other pony stepped forward and said, "hello, Twilight," in a very chilling voice. This was a voice they knew all too well from earlier that night. It was Sapphira.


	8. Duel

"You!" Twilight seethed at Sapphira, "you dare to imprison our princess within your impenetrable walls of injustice and cowardice!"

"Oh, a vocab whiz, are we?" Sapphira sneered, "well, let's see if you can define this: if you don't give into me right here and right now, I am going to drive this horn through the heart of your precious princess."

"Bite me, Sapphira!" Twilight shouted. This elicited a gasp from the other ponies, as they couldn't believe that the Princess of Friendship was capable of insulting other ponies like that. But when it came to the good of Equestria, nothing was off limits, and Twilight was going to make sure Sapphira knew that. "I will defend Celestia and Equestria with my very life if necessary!"

"Foolish Alicorn!" Sapphira said, "don't you know that death is the only outcome when somepony faces me? I am the reaper of the wayward unicorns, I am the champion of all wingless horned ponies everywhere, I am the goddess of this realm! Soon, everypony in Equestria who is and will be shall know the name Sapphira! I will go down in history! I will turn Equestria…into…Unicornistan!"

The ponies all stopped and stifled laughter. Even Celestia smiled. Twilight grinned as she realized just how deluded her foe really was. "Unicornistan? Really? You couldn't come up with a better name than that?"

Sapphira sneered at them, not giving in to their teasing. "It doesn't matter what the name of the place is, just so long as unicorns rule and every Earth pony, Pegasus pony, and Alicorn there is either dead or enslaved! WE SHALL PREVAIL!"

"Alright," Twilight said, "since you're into grandiose declarations, here's one of my own. I challenge you to a duel!"

Once again, the other ponies gasped, this time out of fear. Twilight was challenging one of the most dangerous ponies in Equestria to a duel. Even though Twilight was the best magic user in Equestria, they knew that physically she fell short in a number of areas. She hadn't ever been seen practicing horn-to-horn or hoof-to-hoof combat. What they didn't realize was that Twilight had been taking private lessons, and could more than hold her own against Sapphira.

The evil unicorn snickered. "Alright," she said evilly, "I love a good BLOODBATH! What are your terms?"

"Death," Twilight said, "it's going to be to the death. If I win, not only will you be gone, but I will personally see to it that your entire organization is wiped out. Dungeons, eternal servitude to Equestria's Earth ponies, death, I really don't care. They will be wiped out. If you win, I'll be gone…and you can do as you wish."

"HA!" Sapphira roared, "I'll take great pleasure in murdering you. Then I'll take out all of your friends one by one so that nopony will stand in my way! Now, where and when do you want to duel?"

"Right here, and right now."

"What are the rules of the duel?"

"Horns and hooves only. No magic."

Yet another gasp came from those watching. How in the world could Twilight hope to defeat Sapphira using only her horn and hooves? For that matter, why was Twilight putting so much pressure on herself to do well? Was she trying to prove something? If she was trying to prove her friendship to them, she had no need to. She had proven it time and time and time again.

"Alright," Sapphira said, "I'll give you 5 minutes to prepare."

Twilight nodded and turned to her friends. Each one of them had a look of shock and horror on their face. Maddock looked as if he was about to have a conniption. He seethed with anger, but not at Twilight, his anger was entirely directed towards Sapphira. "Twi, you don't need to do this," Applejack said bluntly.

"Yes, I do," Twilight said, "if I can't defend Equestria when I am called to do so, then what kind of a princess am I?"

"A sensible one," Fluttershy said. "Twilight, there has to be another way. Ponies are killing each other out there! Can't we negotiate and put an end to this senseless violence? Why are we adding to it?"

"Look at her, Fluttershy!" Twilight said, "does she really look like the type of pony who would negotiate about anything?!" Fluttershy looked and whimpered a bit. "No…um…I guess not. But still, I don't like this."

"I don't like it either," Twilight said, "but I have no choice. My hoof has been forced and now I have to do this. If I don't, then Sapphira will kill Celestia and take over Equestria and then we'll all be forced under her hoof." The other ponies nodded. "Don't worry, Twi," Dash said, "we've got your back." Twilight nodded and smiled, grateful for friends who would rush to her aid if she needed it.

Maddock stepped forward and put a hoof around Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight," he said softly, "I haven't told you this yet, but…this is the same unicorn that murdered my mom and dad." Twilight gasped, "really?" Maddock nodded, "so taking care of her would be doing me a personal favor."

Twilight shook her head. "I understand your feelings, Maddock, but I'm gonna do my best to incapacitate her and then maybe talk her out of it."

"She'll never do it, Twilight! You have to kill her!"

Twilight began crying. "I just can't, Maddock! I'm the Princess of Friendship…"

"Snap out of it, Twi! You're also a princess of Equestria, and sometimes friendship goes out the window! You said it yourself! Friendship can't solve everything!"

Twilight turned and sniffed a bit, but then put on a determined face. She knew that she would do anything for Equestria. She had sworn an oath when she was coronated to protect Equestria from every enemy that it faced, no matter the cost. She was determined to keep the promise she had made to Celestia. Equestria would not fall, not on her watch, and if she had to kill Sapphira to make it happen, so be it.

"OK," she said, "I'm ready for this."

Suddenly, she felt a peck on her cheek and turned to see Maddock there. "I know you don't reciprocate my romantic feelings, but I felt it necessary to do that. Be safe, Twilight." She nodded at him and turned to face Sapphira.

"Well, shall we begin?"

"Let's do," Twilight said before letting out a scream of pure anger. She charged at Sapphira, and the evil unicorn charged back. Their horns clashed with a thud as both ponies tried to gain the upper hoof. They growled and snarled at each other as they clashed horns time and time again and scratched with their hooves.

After a few minutes, they realized they were at a stalemate, so they backed off and began circling each other. Twilight was looking for any kind of weakness to exploit, but it didn't appear that Sapphira had any. So Twilight screamed and charged again, trying to hit Sapphira in her backside and knock her off her hooves.

She nailed her target, but Sapphira stayed upright. The evil one laughed. "Do you really think your pathetic attempts at knocking me over will work? Let me show you how a real pony fights!" With that, she took her horn and drove it where Twilight couldn't block it, right into her flank. Twilight howled in pain as Sapphira's horn dealt a significant amount of damage.

"See?! This is what pain is, Twilight! This is what pain is, and I feel it every day thanks to those idiotic Earth ponies and pegasi! Yet, you foolishly insist upon defending them!" With those words, Sapphira yanked her horn out and Twilight winced.

"Of course I do," Twilight shouted as blood poured from the wound, "they're just as much citizens of Equestria as you and I are!"

"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT ANYPONY BUT MYSELF AND MY UNICORN BRETHREN!" Sapphira screamed and spat in anger. She took her horn and tried to drive it into the wound again, but Twilight dodged and managed to drive her horn into Sapphira's leg. The evil unicorn howled in agony and spat curses at Twilight, but Twilight stood her ground. She yanked her horn out and Sapphira tumbled to the ground, unable to walk with her leg in such pain. But that didn't mean she couldn't fight

Twilight leapt on top of her and, for the next three or four minutes, the observing ponies witnessed a screeching, screaming mass of hooves, horns, and blood, as the two mares rained blow after blow upon each other. Fluttershy began crying and hid her face in Pinkie Pie's shoulder. She had never seen Twilight this angry before, and she made a mental note never to get on her bad side.

Meanwhile, Sapphira finally came out of the scrap on top and held Twilight underneath her. The princess struggled to free herself, but the marauding unicorn's hooves were too strong. Twilight looked up and saw hatred and contempt burning in Sapphira's green eyes. "Now," Sapphira said, "comes my favorite part of any duel…the death blow. Any last words?"

Twilight's eyes widened as she realized she was out of options and out of time. She mentally prepared for her life to come to an end. Though she couldn't see them, she knew her friends were right there with her. "Sapphira," she said calmly, "I don't know why you have so much hatred in your heart for your fellow ponies. They've done nothing to you. On the way here, I remembered where I had seen you before and your parents would be crushed if they knew what you were doing."

"MY PARENTS ARE WEAK, SPINELESS, SNIVELING COWARDS!" Sapphira screamed, "NOTHING BUT RICH, GREEDY, PIECES OF TRASH!"

"They aren't greedy," Twilight said, "they love you, Sapphira. I could see it in their eyes the night Rarity and I gave them that award. They looked at you with pride, Sapphira. I could tell that they wanted you to be the best pony you could be. If only you would open your heart and let friendship in…"

"Friends?! Friends are for idiots and losers like you! Me? I deserve a kingdom, filled with the purest breed of unicorn who will make this world over into a utopia!"

"That's where you're wrong. Making things over into a world where the entirety of society thinks, acts, and believes exactly like you isn't right. You're robbing them of their individuality and turning them into collectivist drones! There would be no chance of any friendships forming then."

"Screw your individualism!" Sapphira spat, "I will be a leader. I will be a queen, and every Earth pony, and pegasi in Equestria will know to fear my name! But first…"

She raised her horn and went for the kill, but then, quick as lightning, Maddock flew into the fray and threw himself in front of Twilight. "TWILIGHT! NO!" He screamed as Sapphira's horn plunged into his heart. He tumbled off of Twilight and drew his final breath.


	9. Sacrifice

Twilight turned and looked at Maddock's dead body with her mouth agape. She couldn't believe it. One of her best friends had been taken from her in the blink of an eye. She shook a bit as emotions finally managed to find their way back into her system. She turned and gave Sapphira a lethal look. Now the fire that had been in Sapphira's eyes transfused itself into Twilight's.

"You…MONSTER!" Twilight shrieked as she leapt at Sapphira. The evil unicorn didn't see it coming and lost her footing. She fell underneath Twilight, but managed to block a death strike with her horn. "You'll never kill me!" She yelled. "Oh, yes, I will!" Twilight screamed, "YOU TOOK MY FRIEND FROM ME!"

"The moron jumped in front of my horn!"

"I don't care!" Twilight said as the tears rolled down her face, "I don't care! You took him! YOU TOOK HIM!" She began slashing with her horn as she screamed, leaving gaping holes in Sapphira's flesh. Sapphira howled with each slash, but then she began slashing back. Blood flowed from each pony as they took out their emotions on each other, Twilight for the good of the ponies of Equestria, and Sapphira for the good of herself. They both knew that one miscue could be the difference between life and death.

That miscue came courtesy of Sapphira, who became too confident in her slashing maneuvers and misjudged the distance between herself and Twilight. That allowed the princess to get underneath her and rip her skin open from her hind legs to her forelegs. Sapphira convulsed as she began coughing up blood. She collapsed and within seconds was dead.

Twilight stepped back and looked down upon her foe. "Hail Equestria, and all the ponies in it," she said simply, "ponies like you have no place here. Your evil shall be recorded for all ponies to read for all time, and they shall learn from your mistakes."

She backed up and wobbled a bit. Applejack raced forward and steadied her. "It's alright, sugar cube," she said softly, "I've got ya." Twilight turned and gave a look that betrayed the immense pain coursing through her body. Then her face froze with realization. "Maddock!" She suddenly cried and ran to her dead friend's corpse.

She looked down at it with a devastated look and began weeping. "Oh, Maddock," she said between sobs, "…you were the best of us. You showed today what true friendship is. You gave yourself for me." She sniffed as the rest of her friends gathered around and mourned their loss. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity cried right out loud. Rainbow Dash stood at attention and offered the Wonderbolts salute to their fallen brother. Applejack and Starlight tried to hide their tears, but to no avail. But out of all of them, Twilight's was the most devastating response. Her tears flowed like a river, and she buried herself in Maddock's shoulder. "Maddock…" She barely choked out.

Suddenly, the bubble behind them burst as Celestia was able to work up enough magic to free herself. She looked around what once was her bedroom, now stained with the blood of three ponies. She shook her head sadly and stepped forward to where Twilight and her friends were. Nothing like this had ever happened in the thousands of years that she and Luna had ruled Equestria, and to be frank, she didn't know how to respond.

Ponies died all the time, sure, but it wasn't at the hooves of other ponies. Still, Celestia looked upon Maddock's body with a hint of pride. He had accomplished something that she wanted him to without even being told to accomplish it. He had resurrected the long lost seventh element of friendship. He embodied sacrifice. Now it fell to her to tell Twilight and her friends about this.

"Twilight," Celestia said softly. Twilight turned and saw Celestia's kind, understanding face. She gave her a look of complete helplessness and buried her face in her chest. Celestia rubbed Twilight's mane, trying to comfort her bewildered and shattered former student. In that moment, Celestia was taken back to the days when Twilight was a filly and she would stub her toe or fail an assignment or be disappointed or hurt in some other way and she would come to her for advice and encouragement.

"He's gone," Twilight choked out, "my best friend is gone."

"I know, Twilight," Celestia soothed, "I know. But in so doing, he proved his friendship to you."

"But why, Celestia?" Twilight sobbed, "why did it have to be like this?"

"I will never understand fate, my dear friend," Celestia said, "but what I do understand is that Maddock's heart lay in the right place, and he had you and your friends to thank for it. But what he did here today was so much more than just proving a friendship."

Twilight sniffled and looked up at Celestia. Celestia returned the look and saw, not the proud, strong, determined, beautiful princess she had come to know, but the curious and intelligent student that she had loved for so many years. She knew Twilight like a book and when she gave that curious look, Celestia always automatically launched into an explanation of some sort.

But now she found that her commands to her brain were being disobeyed quite frequently. She couldn't say anything. How could she explain the concept of the seventh element of harmony and friendship to somepony who had just lost someone so dear to them? She knew that she had to. She owed Twilight an explanation for what she had said.

So she shrugged off her doubt and summoned her words with care. "Twilight, when I first met Maddock, he was a bigoted, racist pony. Yet I also saw in him a desire to make and keep friends. I also knew about…the seventh element of harmony." Twilight gasped in shock. _A seventh element? But…whatever could it be, and what does Maddock have to do with it?_

Celestia gently removed Twilight from her shoulder and walked over to look at the fallen pony. "When Star Swirl first discovered the Tree of Harmony, there were seven elements on it. Unfortunately, before he had the chance to properly study all of them, one was cut away from the tree and stolen. Though he never caught the culprit, Star Swirl always believed that the magic of the tree would find somepony who represented that seventh element someday, and he tasked me with helping in that search as much as I could.

As I said before, when I met Maddock, I could see that he was a lonely, frustrated pony. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was tired of being a hateful creature. I could tell, deep within him, he wanted to make connections with others, but he wasn't sure how to go about doing that. He put up a gruff and mean exterior, but inside beat the heart of a true friend. His eyes, and his actions constantly betrayed that.

Even though he was a racist, bigoted, mean spirited pony to his fellow adults, he would constantly stop and help the young foals of Canterlot when they needed it. He wouldn't leave any young pony behind, even the unicorns." This elicited a shocked reaction from the others before she continued. "Yes, even the unicorns. He couldn't bear to see a foal be left in the cold or without something to eat. I constantly watched him sacrifice his warmth and food to see that a young colt or filly was fed or sheltered for the night. Believe it or not, the foals of Canterlot thought of him as their friend, even though he never did.

I knew he could change his bigotry if only he were given the chance. So I gave him one and sent him to you, Twilight, in the hopes that, if he were to truly change and let friendship in, he might embody the seventh element of harmony. I can see by his actions tonight that I was right."

She turned to look at the ponies, who were broken up not only because of the death of their friend, but because of the sweetness of Celestia's story. She took a small breath and continued. "When he sacrificed his life to save you, Twilight, I knew we had found our seventh element of harmony. The one that would join you six in keeping the magic of friendship alive throughout Equestria. Unfortunately, the seventh element is the most painful one. It's the element…of sacrifice."

Twilight looked at her beloved former mentor with disbelief. "So…what you're saying is that Maddock…was the embodiment of an element of harmony?" Celestia nodded. "He most certainly was."

Twilight's lip quivered as she moved back to Maddock's body. She could do nothing but bury her head in his shoulder and cry all over again. He was the element of sacrifice, and fate had declared that his job was to be killed instead of her. "Why?" She sobbed, "why couldn't it have been me? Why couldn't Sapphira have just finished me off instead?"

Celestia moved forward. "Twilight, you mustn't say things like that," she said quietly, "Maddock was a great friend to all of you. Don't let his memory be a constant questioning of what might have happened. Let his memory be a celebration of the wonderful time you had together. Trust me, when you've lived as long as I have, you'll learn to remember your friends as they were meant to be remembered, not as what you think they should be remembered as."

Twilight sniffed a bit and sat up. Her friends gathered around her, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie putting comforting hooves on her shoulders. She could do nothing but just sit and cry and mourn with her friends. By this point, even Celestia was shedding a few tears. Twilight was not only sad, but also scared to death of what had just happened. She had never dealt with death before. Now that she was an Alicorn and she knew she would live for thousands of years, would this be her fate every time somepony she loved died? _Wait…loved? _She thought, _did I…love him?_

She came to the sudden realization that she had loved him all this time. She thought herself too busy and too royal for romance. She thought of it as being for younger ponies and wide eyed mares with dreams of being queens of their own little domestic kingdoms one day. But then she realized that it wasn't just for them. It was for her as well. Unfortunately, this internal revelation caused her to cry all the more. _Now he'll never know it! _She yelled in her mind.

Then, she opened her eyes and stepped away from the group. She bent down to Maddock's ear and whispered, "I know you can't hear me. But I need to tell you this. I love you, Maddock, just as you have loved me. Nothing will ever take that away from me. My love for you is eternal."

When she said that, a sudden burst of light emanated from back towards Ponyville. Suddenly, a fierce magic came pouring into the room and flooded throughout Maddock's body. The other ponies all gasped and retreated a bit, unsure of what was happening. As they watched in amazement, Maddock's body was lifted off the ground and spread out. The magic weaved its way through him until it was through, and then set him down and quickly left the room.

Suddenly, Maddock groaned and opened his eyes. He looked up at his friends, who were all giving him very shocked, yet joyous looks, with ten-foot-wide grins plastered over their faces. "Um…did we win?" He asked. He never received an answer, because Twilight tackled him. "MADDOCK!" She yelled in pure joy, "oh, Maddock!" She kept repeating his name over and over and over again as she hugged him tightly.

"Twi…Twi…your hugs are awesome, but I can't breathe!"

"Oh! Sorry…" She said sheepishly, letting him go. Suddenly, he was surrounded by his friends, who were all talking over one another. "Guys? Guys? GUYS?!" He shouted, trying to get himself heard. "One at a time, please!" So, carefully, they told him about what had happened, about how he embodied the seventh element of harmony, and about how he had been dead.

"But…how was I raised back to life?"

Celestia stepped forward with a big smile. "I think I have the answer. The Tree of Harmony couldn't bear for you to die this way, without having the full experience of what true friendship has to offer, so it sent some magic here and the rest, as they say, is history."

Maddock couldn't believe his ears. He had been dead…and now he was alive again? He didn't have time to ponder this as he found himself wrapped up in another one of Twilight's hugs. This one was lighter and he gladly returned it. "Twilight, I…" He tried to say, but couldn't, for he found himself in a deep kiss, courtesy of the princess. The other ponies didn't say anything, but looked on and smiled as Twilight poured all her love into the gesture.

Maddock couldn't believe this was happening, but was happier than he had ever been in his life. He gladly kissed her back. They started going a little long, but were quickly stopped by a rather strong throat clearing from Celestia. They backed away from each other and Twilight giggled a bit. They hugged once again before standing up.

The ponies all moved to the window and looked down upon the plazas of Canterlot. They could see Shining Armor and the Canterlot forces driving away the last remaining strands of the bigoted army. "Once again, Equestria is safe for ponies of all kinds," Celestia said triumphantly, "and, if I'm not mistaken, we have a royal wedding to prepare for."


	10. Wedding

For two weeks after the great battle at Canterlot, everything was a blur for the ponies. Twilight and Maddock had a bit of a whirlwind romance, concluding with Maddock officially proposing marriage and Twilight excitedly agreeing. They knew all along that they were going to be wed, they just had to make it official. When Celestia mentioned "a royal wedding," they had both blushed heavily because they knew that they both wanted it to happen.

Before they knew it, another six months went by and their romantic attachment grew stronger than ever, to the point where they never went anywhere without each other. But, true to their personalities and respect for each other, they never did anything tasteless, unbecoming, or raunchy. They were very popular among the young ponies of Ponyville, and always did their best to make personal appearances at things like birthday parties.

Maddock's teaching career blossomed, and the next semester, he had 45 students in his anti-prejudice class. He never knew how many creatures in the world held grudges against other creatures because of how they looked or where they were from. True to his word, he helped them, and his graduation rate was an astounding 100%.

Twilight couldn't have been happier. She was surrounded by her best friends, the love of her life, and her passion of educating young creatures on the magic of friendship. Only now, she had one more story to tell: the story of Maddock, the seventh element of harmony. She was always amused as her students' faces would light up whenever she began talking about him. Little foals in the town would beg her to tell the story of her duel with Sapphira and Maddock's sacrifice and subsequent resurrection.

Meanwhile, preparations for the next royal wedding were busily being made. Applejack was harvesting apples as fast as she could buck them to create the desserts for the reception. Everything else was being catered by The Iron Hoof restaurant. Fluttershy and Rarity were working together to create the gowns for the bride and the bridesmaids, and the suits for the groom and his groom's stallions. Pinkie Pie was supervising the entire shindig, with an eye for what both Twilight and Maddock liked. She had thrown them an engagement party, so she had a new file on Maddock in her party cave. She was planning everything to a T. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, the Wonderbolts captain, were planning a big show in Twilight and Maddock's honor.

That left Starlight, who had perhaps the most important role of all: being Twilight's mare of honor. She was so nervous in the weeks leading up to the big day, that she had regular fainting spells. Luckily, her friends were always there to pick her back up and help her out of them. She wanted everything to go just right on Twilight's big day. She owed her so much, and the least she could do was help make everything perfect.

One day, about a week before the wedding, Twilight walked into Starlight's guidance counselor office to find her, once again, unconscious on the floor. Twilight walked up to her and shook her. "Starlight, you've gotta stop this! You're putting too much pressure on yourself!" Starlight groaned and woke up, "but, Twilight…if your day isn't perfect next week…I'll never forgive myself…"

"Oh, Starlight," Twilight said, "my day's going to be perfect no matter what happens!"

"How do you figure that?"

"Because I'm getting married to the stallion I love more than life itself and I'm going to be surrounded by my best friends while that's happening. Any day like that is going to be perfect, no matter what happens."

"I wish I could be as nonchalant and laid back as you are. Aren't you nervous?"

"I don't think I'm nervous as much as I am excited. The butterflies are definitely there, but it's not because I'm scared of anything."

Starlight doubled back a bit. "I'm not scared!" She protested. Twilight just gave her a look. "Starlight, we've been friends for a long time now. I know you like a book, and I know when you're nervous about something."

"Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I'm scared! I'm no foal!"

"You do know it's perfectly alright for adult ponies to be scared too, right?"

"I guess…" Starlight sighed, "alright, fine, I'm scared. I'm freaked out. I just want everything to go well, and I'm afraid I'm gonna screw it up." Twilight stepped forward and put a hoof around her shoulder. "Nothing's gonna go wrong," she said, "everything's gonna be fine." She offered Starlight a friendly smile, and Starlight couldn't help but smile back. She felt warmer having her best friend near her, and she took comfort in Twilight's words.

Before they knew it, the week passed and the day of the festivities arrived. Twilight's castle was overflowing with guests, with family members, friends, and well-wishers of both the bride and groom packing into the fortress. Only a certain number of ponies were allowed inside, but the outside of the castle was crammed with Twilight and Maddock fans, hoping to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

Inside, Twilight's friends prepared her for her big day. "Oh, darling, you look ravishing," Rarity said once Twilight's dress was on. It was made of the purest white silk, and it seemed to make Twilight's eyes shine even brighter than they already were. Rarity and Fluttershy both took a lot of pride in making a dress for such a special occasion, and seeing Twilight's reaction made all the hours of work worthwhile.

Her other friends looked on at the gown and voiced their approval. "I still can't believe you're gettin' hitched," Applejack said in her signature drawl, "seems like only yesterday we were shakin' hooves and gettin' to be friends for the first time."

"I know," the princess replied, "I can't believe it, either. I never thought I would ever find a stallion that suited me. I always found romance to be for other mares, and not for me. But when Maddock sacrificed himself for me during that duel, something clicked inside of me. I realized that, over the time we had known each other, I'd fallen head over hooves for him."

"Aw…" The other ponies said in unison. "That is so beautiful!" Pinkie said as tears formed in her eyes. Twilight blushed a bit. "Oh, stop, it's a completely natural feeling," she tried to say matter-of-factly, but she failed miserably as she exploded into a fit of giggles at the end of her sentence. "Mm-hmm…" Dash said, "COMPLETELY natural."

Meanwhile, Maddock and his groom's stallions, which included Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, and his Best Dragon, Spike, helped him get ready. "Oh…oh…OH!" Maddock suddenly shouted. Shining Armor sighed "What's up, Maddock?"

"I don't know if I remember my vows!"

Shining Armor chuckled and Maddock frowned at him. "Come on, man! It's my wedding day! Everything has to be perfect!"

"I've got news for you, dude," Shining said, "this day won't be perfect. No day can possibly be perfect. Oh, and if you start singing some type of aria about how this day will be perfect and it's the kind of day of which you've dreamed since you were small, I'll personally see to it that my sister marries somepony else." Maddock gulped nervously before Shining laughed. "Ah, I'm just messin' with you, buddy! I think you and Twily are gonna be incredibly happy together. I hope you guys are as happy as Cadence and I have been. Now, as far as the vows are concerned, just tell Twilight exactly how you feel about her." Maddock nodded and breathed deeply, determined to make Twilight the happiest mare in Equestria.

The ceremonies began promptly at 2:00. Princess Celestia presided over it, and she stood with pride atop the altar in Twilight's castle. Her wings were unfurled and she had on the same dress she had worn at Twilight's coronation. Next to her stood Maddock. He fidgeted a bit, and thoughts ran through his mind of his parents. _They should be here, _he thought sadly, _they should bear witness to this. _Next to him stood Shining Armor, Spike, and the rest of his groom's stallions, whom included Big Mac, Grand Pear, Sandbar, and Burnt Oak.

On the other side of the aisle were Twilight's bridesmaids, all looking radiant in the gowns Rarity had designed for them. Big Mac had to consistently remind himself that he had a girlfriend, Sugar Belle, who was in attendance. Starlight stood at the head of the group, trying not to look too nervous.

Suddenly, Celestia nodded at Fluttershy and the specially trained birds she had began singing the Wedding March. The doors at the back of the chapel opened and Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle began skipping down the aisle, scattering flowers everywhere, just as they did at Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding.

Then came Twilight herself, adorned in the most beautiful fashion possible. Maddock thought his eyes would pop out of his head as his bride came down the aisle. His heart raced and he began sweating. Shining Armor took notice and nudged him a bit. "Dude, you're sweating," he whispered harshly. "I can't help it," Maddock whispered back, "she looks so beautiful!" Shining Armor stifled a chuckle. He knew that feeling. It was the same that he had felt when Cadence walked down the aisle.

Then the two stood in front of each other. Twilight's eyes glowed, and Maddock thought he would burst with love for her. In the front row, Twilight's mother and father wept tears of joy. Celestia began the ceremony with a speech about love and its power, but also the power of true friendship and sacrifice. When she spoke of the seventh element, Twilight gave Maddock one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen.

"The bride and groom have written their own vows," Celestia said. Twilight then stepped forward and recited the small speech she had written. She poured her heart out, proudly declaring her love for Maddock and how proud she was of him in his reformed, friendly state. By the end of it, she was beginning to shed tears and backed away. Starlight gave her a tissue, which she gladly accepted.

Then it was Maddock's turn. His mind was a blur as he tried to recall everything he had written about Twilight. But in the moment, he couldn't remember. He was too caught up in her radiant beauty and amazing personality. So he sighed, and completely ad-libbed the following. "Twilight…on this day, I realize that I am the luckiest stallion in Equestria. A lot of ponies would have given up on somepony like me, but you never did. You went from my teacher to my friend to my significant other, and it's been one heck of a ride. But it's a ride I want to take over and over and over again."

He took a breath and continued, "I have never met somepony as special or as wonderful as you. Of course, that's probably because, for the years until I met you, I never opened my heart up to anypony. But then you came into my life and you broke apart those chains and you forced its door open. Now I'm happier than I ever imagined I could be. I have a job, a home, and friends, and I have you to thank for it. But even more than that, now I know what genuine love and friendship is, and I never want to let it go, just as I never want to let you go.

I've never met a mare as beautiful, intelligent, or as amazing as you. I never thought I'd ever fall in love, but I guess fate played out different circumstances for me. I'm very glad that it did. So, on this day, I pledge my entire life to you…a life I've given once for you, and would gladly give again, should the situation call for it. My world is your world now, and your world is mine. I'm so happy that you chose to put so much trust and faith in me. Now, my only wish is to make you the happiest mare in Equestria. I love you, Twilight, forever and always."

With that, he stepped back. He noticed that Twilight's eyes were moist, and she was absolutely beaming. He looked to the side and saw Twilight's parents, who continued to weep tears of joy. Even Shining Armor was shedding a couple tears, although it was common knowledge that he cried at weddings.

Suddenly, the stomping of hooves could be heard. The wedding party looked out at the audience, only to be met with the cheers and applause of the ponies sitting there. They were so moved by the vows that had been spoken, that they broke out in spontaneous applause! Celestia motioned with her hoof for silence, and the crowd quieted. The rest of the ceremony proceeded as usual, ending with a kiss of genuine love and affection between the newlyweds and a special coronation of Maddock as the new Prince of Friendship. Then they marched out of the hall and into the future.

This, friends, was the story of Maddock, and how he, with the help of a beautiful, kind, friendly princess, transformed into the Prince of Friendship. How do I know all of this to be true? Because I myself, am Maddock, the Prince of Friendship. Yes, dear reader, this all happened. So if you too are facing a prejudiced outlook on life, just find yourself one friend. They may change your entire perspective.

A/N: Thank you SO MUCH for reading this! I hope you all have enjoyed The Maddock Chronicles. I may pick this series back up later on, but for now, I'm just gonna let it rest. Again, thanks for reading. You guys are awesome!


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